can miles truly separate you from friends?

When Todd and I got engaged and it came time for me to choose my bridesmaids, I didn't have any trouble at all. I know that a lot of brides have a hard time narrowing it down or feel obligated to have a cousin or friend whose wedding she was in. Bridal parties can become really big really quickly. I felt so fortunate to know that the five women that I would choose were the only five that I could ever imagine being a part of my day. It wouldn't have been the same without any one of them there and there isn't a single person that I wish I had included.

All by one of us attended Louisiana Tech, but we all were Alpha Chi Omegas either at Louisiana Tech or UVA. I grew up with one of the girls-- our moms were pregnant with us at the same time and they were best friends-- and we ended up living together in college. I met one of them in graduate school and we were instantly friends.

The sad thing is that none of these girls live here in Columbia. I love visiting my friends and one of them actually lives in San Diego-- the perfect vacation spot, I think! I still miss them, though. If I had it my way I'd put them all here or put us all somewhere together with our jobs, husbands, boyfriends, and pets and we'd live in a perfect world.

My California bridesmaid is also an event planner and my Dallas bridesmaid is a designer. We've all tossed around the idea of going into business together and finally living our dream, but geography poses a pretty large problem.

We'll just have to settle for frequent flights and road trips to get all of those good times back. I often wonder how many girls live near their best friends and how many are dealing with long distance best friendships.